Kansas State rolls to easy victory over Florida Atlantic

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Winston Dimel ran for four first-half touchdowns, Kansas State took advantage of four Florida Atlantic turnovers and the Wildcats rolled to a 63-7 victory in their home opener Saturday.

Jesse Ertz added 117 yards passing with a touchdown, and Dominique Heath returned a punt 75 yards for another score, as the Wildcats (1-1) bounced back from their season-opening loss at Stanford.

Kansas State scored on its first four possessions, including a pair of one-play drives set up by Florida Atlantic (1-2) turnovers, and cruised to a 42-0 lead by halftime. Backup quarterbacks Alex Delton and Joe Hubener completed the route with touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.

Greg Howell had a touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter for the Owls.

Jason Driskel threw for 125 yards, but the Florida Atlantic quarterback also tossed two interceptions and lost two fumbles deep in his own territory. Kansas State turned those turnovers into 21 points.

The Wildcats were playing their latest scheduled home opener since 1992, and also christening the most recent renovation to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The $15 million project to fully enclose the lower bowl provided new space for the marching band and the visiting Owls with plush new locker rooms.

THE TAKEAWAY

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Owls coach Charlie Partridge said this week that he is trying to emulate the way Snyder built his program. But he clearly has a long way to go. The Owls are coming off back-to-back three-win seasons, and could have a hard time getting to that mark if they play like they did Saturday.

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats cleaned up a lot of the issues that popped up in their loss to Stanford, and get another chance to clean up the penalties against Missouri State next weekend. Things get tougher after that with a visit to West Virginia to open the Big 12 schedule.

UP NEXT

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls return home to play Ball State next Saturday night.

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats wrap non-conference play against the Bears on Saturday night.